Editorial: Preparation can prevent tax storms

Friday, Sept. 19, 2003 | 4:30 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION: Sept. 21, 2003

If we act on its information, the U.S. Census Bureau can help us avoid future tax crises, much in the same way that weather forecasters can help us prepare for high winds and flooding. Within days of Hurricane Isabel being spotted over the Atlantic Ocean, forecasters were able to accurately predict when it would hit land, where it would hit and at what intensity. Because they had been warned, hundreds of thousands of people were able to prepare. Last week the Census Bureau gave us a good warning about our future growth and we should likewise start preparing.

Nevada, the Census Bureau reported, ranked second in the nation in the number of school-age children gained in the first two years of this decade. In Clark County the number of children ages 5 to 17 grew by 37,878. The census bureau also reported that Nevada ranked third for the same period in the number of senior citizens added to the population. Clark County alone gained 16,713 people aged 65 and older from April 2000 to July 2002. Senior citizens and children are the groups that require the most in terms of public services funded by taxpayers. Education, including K-12 and college, and health care for senior citizens account for about 65 percent of the state budget. You don't have to be aboard a hurricane-hunting plane to spot this gathering storm and call for preparations.

The additional tax revenue finally approved this year, although substantial, will not alone be sufficient to adequately provide for the needs of the state's growing population. The tax increases were the first for the state in 12 years, a period of nation-leading growth. Without even incremental tax increases during those years, the pressure built up for a record-breaking increase -- and one that predictably created the intense protest we witnessed during the 2003 Legislature.

Gov. Kenny Guinn weathered that storm -- two special sessions and an intercession by the Nevada Supreme Court -- and the state is better for it. But now he is ruling out any pressure from his office for the 2005 Legislature to raise taxes, even though record growth, particularly among children and senior citizens, is predicted to continue for at least the next decade. This certainly will create the need for more revenues. We hope the governor reconsiders his position. We also hope the voters elect a Legislature that has the foresight that was so lacking in this year's session. Ignoring the need for at least incremental tax increases every biennium is like seeing Isabel forming east of the Caribbean Islands -- and shrugging your shoulders.